Motivation
| “People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing - that’s why we recommend it daily.” ~Zig Ziglar |
Why do we do the things we do? What makes us choose between one action or behavior and another? The answer is motivation.
Motivation is one of the most popular subjects of study because it is at the heart of understanding human behavior. Once you understand your own motivation, you can harness that knowledge to take more control over your actions and your path in life.
First, however, you need to understand some of the basic ideas associated with the subject of motivation.
Two Types of Motivation
One of the most basic concepts dealing with motivation is that there are two types: intrinsic and extrinsic. As the names imply, intrinsic motivation comes from inside the person while extrinsic motivation comes from outside the person. The difference is probably best illustrated with an example.
A child is working hard to get good grades. Clearly, they are motivated to do the work necessary to achieve that goal. However, the motivation could be of either (or even both) of the types.
If the child is extrinsically motivated, the parents may be offering him or her some type of reward for doing well in school, such as a certain amount of money per “A” on the report card.
On the other hand, if the child is intrinsically motivated, he or she wants to get good grades because it provides a good feeling or helps them move closer to a personal goal.
People can and are often motivated by both intrinsic and extrinsic factors.
Rewards & Coercion
To understand motivation, you must also understand the two most common extrinsic motivators: reward and coercion. In the example above, the child’s extrinsic motivation was brought about by a type of reward.
Basically, a reward is anything intended to encourage the repetition of a behavior. Rewards can include money, candy, hugs, compliments, or anything of value to the person receiving the reward.
On the other hand, coercion is a different type of extrinsic motivation in which the person chooses a particular behavior in order to avoid something negative, such as pain. For example, the child in the earlier example could also have been extrinsically motivated to do well because he or she would not be able to play video games after receiving a bad grade.
When rewards or coercion are used repeatedly for the purpose of encouraging or discouraging a specific behavior, this is known as reinforcement. Through repetition, we can train ourselves and others to be motivated to do certain things but not others.
Expectancy Theory
Although there are a vast number of theories from various branches of psychology which try to explain motivation, one of the most interesting is the Expectancy Theory.
According to this theory, there are three factors which determine a person’s level of motivation towards a certain action or behavior:
• Likelihood of Success (Expectancy)
• How Success is Connected to a Reward (Instrumentality)
• Value of the Goal (Valance)
In the theory, all three of these factors are quantified then multiplied by one another to determine the individual’s motivation level. That means if any of the factors are rated relatively low then the person’s motivation will inevitably be low.
When your motivation is low, it is because:
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You don't truly believe you can succeed. You feel pumped up after reading “success stories” about individuals who have achieved great things despite all the odds being against them, and it restores your belief. Once again, you feel motivated (for a short while).
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You either do not have a big enough reward to make you want to go through all the effort, or you don't remind yourself of that reward often enough. It is not at the forefront of your mind on a constant basis.
Returning to the example of the student, his or her motivation could be explained by this theory. The child has probably learned that by working hard he or she stands a good job of achieving those good grades. There is probably also a clear connection between getting those good grades and some type of reward.
However, the student must also recognize the value of obtaining good grades even beyond an extrinsic reward. Because all of these factors are high in the child, his or her motivation is also high.
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Need
One of the most frequently discussed explanations of human behavior is Maslow’s Hierarchy of Need theory. According to this theory, people have different levels of needs which are arranged in a pyramid formation.
In order to begin obtaining the next level of needs on the pyramid, the lower level needs must first be fulfilled. For example, people must obtain their basic requirements for food and shelter before they are concerned with trying to feel safe. And when a person is fearing for their life, they're not thinking about their goal to lose 30 pounds.
In terms of motivation, these needs become motivators. As long as a person has an unfulfilled need, he or she is going to keep working hard to obtain that need. For example, if a person has reached the “Social Needs” level, he or she will be motivated by the desire to feel like a part of the group.
Once that need is fulfilled, he or she may move up to the next level of the pyramid and will have a different motivator.
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